Medical waste container lid

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a lid for a waste container having a first portion pivotably connected to a second portion. The first portion includes a first handle and a first protrusion and the second portion includes a second handle and a second protrusion. The first protrusion engages the second protrusion to prevent the first portion from rotating relative to the second portion past a threshold angle.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/088,871 which was filed on Aug. 14, 2008.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure generally relates to a lid for a medical waste disposal container. More particularly, this disclosure relates to a lid for accessing only a portion the waste container or the entire waste container.

Many types of containers have been used to store medical waste and protect the patient or health care professional from the waste product stored inside the container. The waste product may include biological material, medical devices, or other similar materials. It is important for the user disposing of the medical waste product to easily access the interior of the container to dispose of the medical waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a lid for a waste container having a first portion pivotably connected to a second portion. The first portion includes a first handle and a first protrusion and the second portion includes a second handle and a second protrusion. The first protrusion engages the second protrusion to prevent the first portion from rotating relative to the second portion past a threshold angle.

In the particular example shown, the lid and container assembly include a lid and a container having an interior and an upper perimeter. The lid includes a first portion having a first protrusion, a second portion having a second protrusion, and a channel formed around a perimeter of the lid for accepting the upper perimeter of the container.

The lid is removed from the container by engaging a first handle on a first portion and a second handle on a second portion of the lid and applying a lifting force to the first handle and the second handle. A first protrusion on the first portion engages a second protrusion on the second portion of the lid to prevent the first portion from rotating relative to the second portion past a threshold angle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various features and advantages of the disclosed examples will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example container and lid.

FIG. 2 illustrates a medical waste bag located on the container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example first portion of the lid of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a top perspective view of the lid of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the lid of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a first portion of the lid of FIG. 1 in an open position.

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of a second portion of the lid of FIG. 1 in an open position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An example container 10 and lid 32 for collecting medical waste is shown in FIG. 1. The medical waste could include biological material, medical devices, or other medical waste materials. Additionally, the container 10 could store recyclable medical devices, such as devices containing Titanium or other recyclable materials.

The container 10 includes a base wall 12, side walls 14, a front wall 16, a rear wall 18, and a pair of container flaps 19 hingeably connected to upper edges of the side walls 14. Handles 22 protrude outwardly from the front wall 16 and the rear wall 18.

FIG. 2 illustrates a container 10 lined with a medical waste bag 74. The medical waste bag 74 may drape over an upper edge 24 of the container 10. The upper edge 24 of the container 10 extends around an opening 30 and includes an upper hinged portion 26 and a lower flat portion 28. The upper hinged portion 26 connects to the container flaps 19 to provide a hinge connection between the side walls 14 and the container flaps 19. The upper hinged portion 26 is higher (i.e. spaced further from the base wall 12) than the lower flat portions 28 at the upper edges of the front and rear walls 16, 18. The lid 32 covers the opening 30 to provide sanitary protection from any medical waste located within the container 10 because the container flaps 19 are at least partially covered by the medical waste bag 74 and, therefore are unable to cover the opening 30 without disturbing the placement of the medical waste bag 74 over the opening 30. Additionally, the lid 32 secures the medical waste bag 74 around the upper edge 24 of the container 10 by either frictionally engaging or snap-fitting with the container 10 to prevent the medical waste bag 74 from sliding off of the upper edge 24 into the container 10 when filling with medical waste.

FIG. 3 illustrates a top perspective view of a first portion 32 a of the lid 32. The first portion 32 a includes a front portion 34 a, a rear portion 36 a, and side portions 38 a. At least one protruding handle 40 a extends from a central portion of a lower surface 42 a of the first portion 32 a to provide a first grasping member. A recessed pocket 44 a is formed in an upper surface 46 a of the first portion 32 a adjacent the rear portion 36 a to provide a second gripping member.

An inner wall 48 a extends upwardly from a perimeter 50 a of the lower surface 42 a to an intermediate surface 52 a along the front portion 34 a and to the upper surface 46 a along the side portions 38 a and the rear portion 36 a. An outer wall 54 a extends downwardly from an outer edge 56 a adjacent the side portions 38 a and the front portion 34 a. A first protrusion 58 a extends downwardly from the outer edge 56 a of the upper surface 46 a adjacent the rear portion 36 a. The first protrusion 58 a includes an outwardly facing surface 60 a. The first portion 32 a and the second portion 32 b are identical and can be produced from the same mold. The lid 32 may be thermoformed or injection molded. The lid 32 may also be reusable or recyclable.

FIG. 4 illustrates a top perspective view of the first portion 32 a and the second portion 32 b pivotably connected by at least one hinge member 62. In this example, the at least one hinge member 62 is attached to the upper surfaces 46 a 46 b adjacent the rear portions 36 a 36 b by a plurality of fasteners 64, such as bolts, screws, or adhesive. Although the at least one hinge member 62 is shown attached to the upper surfaces 46 a 46 b, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the at least one hinge member 62 could be mounted in a plurality of locations or molded into the lid 32 as a living hinge (by making the lid one-piece) without departing from the scope of the invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the first portion 32 a pivotably attached to the second portion 32 b. The outwardly facing surface 60 a of the first protrusion 58 a is in contact with the outwardly facing surface 60 b of the second protrusion 58 b to prevent the first portion 32 a from rotating relative to the second portion 32 b past a certain threshold angle. Generally, the threshold angle is approximately 180 degrees.

A channel 66 a, 66 b is formed between the inner wall 48 a, 48 b and the outer wall 54 a, 54 b. The first and second protrusion 58 a, 58 b are spaced from the outer wall 54 a, 54 b to create a channel opening 68 to allow the upper hinge portion 26 of the container 10 to mate with the channel 66 a, 66 b. The channel 66 a, 66 b is deeper along the side portions 38 a, 38 b to accommodate the greater height of the upper hinged portion 26 on the side walls 14 and shallower along the front portion 34 a, 34 b to mate with the generally flat upper edge 28 of the front wall 16 and the rear wall 18. However, the depth of the channel 66 a, 66 b may vary to accommodate different containers 10. The inner wall 48 a, 48 b and the outer wall 54 a, 54 b along the front portion 34 a, 34 b of the lid 32 may engage the front wall 16 or the rear wall 18 to prevent the lid 32 from sliding on the container 10 when opening either the first portion 32 a or the second portion 32 b. The channels 66 a, 66 b, or portions thereof, may be slightly narrower than the upper edges of the front wall 16, rear wall 18 or side walls 14, such that the walls 48 a, 48 b and 54 a, 54 b are deformed slightly when installed to further retain the lid 32 on the container 10. Alternatively, or in addition, a snap-fit connection between the lid 32 and container 10 could be provided.

A first side 70 of the container 10 is accessed by engaging the protruding handle 40 a on the first portion 32 a and rotating the first portion 32 a about axis of rotation A as shown in FIGS. 6. Similarly, a second side 72 of the container 10 is accessed by engaging the protruding handle 40 b on the second portion 32 b and rotating the second portion 32 b about axis of rotation A as shown in FIGS. 7. The upper surface 46 a of the first portion 32 a may contact the upper surface 46 b of the second portion 32 b when accessing the first side 70 or the second side 72.

Alternatively, access to the entire opening 30 of the container 10 is obtained by simultaneously grasping with one hand the pockets 44 a 44 b on the lid 32 and applying a vertical lifting force to remove the lid 32. The first outwardly facing surface 60 a on the first protrusion 58 a engages the second outwardly facing surface 60 b on the second protrusion 58 b to maintain the lid 32 in a substantially flat orientation while allowing the pockets 44 a 44 b to be engaged by a single hand for removal. Note that in FIGS. 6 and 7, it is expected that the medical waste bag 74 would be used, but is not shown for clarity.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes and jurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are considered to represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope. 

1. A lid for a waste container comprising: a first portion pivotably connected to a second portion; the first portion including a first handle and the second portion including a second handle; and a first protrusion extending from the first portion and a second protrusion extending from the second portion wherein the first protrusion engages the second protrusion to prevent the first portion from rotating relative to the second portion past a threshold angle.
 2. The lid of claim 1, wherein the first protrusion extends from a first edge on the first portion and the second protrusion extends from a second edge on the second portion, the first portion connected by a hinge to the second portion along the first edge and the second edge.
 3. The lid of claim 1, wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion are substantially perpendicular to an upper surface of the lid.
 4. The lid of claim 1, wherein the first handle is located adjacent the second handle.
 5. The lid of claim 1, wherein a channel extends about a perimeter of an underside of the lid.
 6. The lid of claim 5, wherein the channel includes a first pair of opposite channels at a first height and a second pair of opposite channels are at a second height that is different from the first height.
 7. The lid of claim 1, wherein the threshold angle is approximately 180 degrees.
 8. The lid of claim 1, wherein the first portion is identical to the second portion.
 9. The lid of claim 1, wherein the first handle and the second handle are located in a central region of the first portion and the second portion.
 10. A container and lid assembly comprising: a container having a plurality of walls defining an interior, the plurality of walls having an upper perimeter; a lid including a first portion having a first protrusion and a second portion having a second protrusion; a channel formed around a perimeter of the lid; and the upper perimeter of the container accepted within the channel on the lid.
 11. The container and lid assembly of claim 10, wherein a first pair of opposite channels are at a first height and a second pair of opposite channels are at a second height that is different from the first height.
 12. The container and lid assembly of claim 11, wherein the second pair of channels accepts an upper hinged portion of the container.
 13. The container and lid assembly of claim 11, wherein the first pair of opposite channels prevents the lid from sliding on the container when opening the first portion or the second portion.
 14. A method of removing a lid from a container including: a) engaging a first handle on a first portion and a second handle on a second portion of the lid; b) applying a lifting force to the first handle and the second handle to remove the lid from the container; and c) engaging a first protrusion on the first portion with a second protrusion on the second portion of the lid to prevent the first portion from rotating relative to the second portion past a threshold angle.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first handle is located adjacent the second handle. 